The Developmental Origin of Metacognition

We explain metacognition as a management of cognitive resources that does not necessitate algorithmic strategies or metarepresentation. When pragmatic, world‐directed actions cannot reduce the distance to the goal, agents engage in epistemic action directed at cognition. Such actions often are physical and involve other people, and so are open to observation. Taking a dynamic systems approach to development, we suggest that implicit and perceptual metacognition emerges from dyadic reciprocal interaction. Early intersubjectivity allows infants to internalize and construct rudimentary strategies for monitoring and control of their own and others' cognitions by emotion and attention. The functions of initiating, maintaining, and achieving turns make proto‐conversation a productive platform for developing metacognition. It enables caregiver and infant to create shared routines for epistemic actions that permit training of metacognitive skills. The adult is of double epistemic use to the infant—as a teacher that comments on and corrects the infant's efforts, and as the infant's cognitive resource in its own right. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Microcomputer as Perceptual Tool:

The microcomputer as a medium of instruction is not inherently better or worse than any other medium be it lecture, television, print or practical experience. However, the microcomputer can simultaneously present instruction and collect data on student performance. In order for educators to evaluate the success of instruction presented by computer they must use the microcomputer as a perceptual tool to more sensitively monitor and modify the educational process. Thoughtful consideration of monitoring data by special educators promises to make the microcomputer a revolutionary aspect of school instruction. Such an educational revolution can extend to the delivery of special services provided that the time and ancillary supports needed to utilize performance are made available to school personnel.     

Social skills and sex‐role functioning in borderline personality disorder: relationship to self‐mutilating behavior

This study compared the social skills functioning and sex role affiliation of female inpatients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder who engaged in self‐mutilating behavior (n?=?30) with female patients with borderline personality disorder who did not engage in such behavior (n?=?18). Patients with borderline personality disorder who engaged in self‐mutilating behavior were found to have relatively poorer skills in communicating non‐verbal emotional information to others and in receiving and interpreting such information from others. In terms of sex role orientation, patients who engaged in self‐mutilating behavior were significantly more likely than non‐mutilators to be typed as undifferentiated using the Bem Sex Role Inventory. These participants were less likely to identify with either masculine or feminine sex roles. Patients who did not self‐mutilate were found to be significantly more likely than those who did self‐mutilate to identify with the masculine sex role.     

孤独症群体的孤岛能力

孤岛能力是个体在一般能力普遍落后的情况下某一个或几个领域表现出来的与其整体能力极不匹配的超常能力。令人惊讶的是,人类近一半的孤岛能力产自于孤独症谱系障碍。本文系统回顾了孤独症孤岛能力的特征、传统的各种心理学解释和当前最有力的认知神经科学发现:脑病理性优势假说和孤独症特质假说。在此基础上,本文认为脑优势中心的转移和混乱的大脑连接可能是孤岛能力产生的前提,而特定技能的遗传和后天的反复练习则是孤岛能力得以强化和巩固的重要因素。     

工作要求-资源模型新视角——基于心理社会安全氛围的分析

心理社会安全氛围(Psychosocial safety climate,简称PSC)指员工对组织是否重视员工工作过程中与心理健康和安全相关的政策、规程和行为实践的共同感知和看法.回顾相关研究,对PSC的理论建构、测量方法、效度验证及PSC在工作要求-资源模型(Job Demand-Resource Model,简称JD-R模型)中的作用机制等进行了系统梳理.在此基础上,总结JD-R模型完善的理论贡献与管理启示,并提出PSC理论与测量工具完善、工作要求与工作资源层次匹配、考虑组织外及个人因素、开展本土化研究等未来研究方向.     

Effects of lifestyle and stress on the employee and organization: Implications for promoting health at work

Abstract

This research was designed to determine the extent to which employee health and performance are predicted by lifestyle and stress. Data were collected from 345 employees working in a variety of organizations in southern California. Additionally, supervisors evaluated the work performance of the participating employees whom they directly supervised, and company records of employee health care costs were obtained. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed (a) that physical lifestyle (i.e., exercise pattern, eating habits, and general health practices) predicted unique variance in vitality and positive well-being; (b) that psychosocial lifestyle (i.e., social relations, intellectual activity, occupational conditions, and spiritual involvement) predicted unique variance in vitality, positive well-being, anxiety, depression, lack of self-control, and somatic complaints; (c) that employee stress predicted unique variance in vitality, positive well-being, anxiety, depression, physician visits, somatic complaints, illness absences, and supervisory ratings of job performance, absenteeism and tardiness; (d) that physical lifestyle buffered the adverse consequences of stress for anxiety, depression, physician visits, and company health care costs; and (e) that there was a Physical x Psychosocial Lifestyle interaction for anxiety, depression, and lack of self-control. However, the employee lifestyle factors were not related to supervisory ratings of performance at work. The findings have direct implications for organizational health programs and policies.     

Managers’ selection preferences: The role of prejudice and multicultural personality traits in the assessment of native and immigrant job candidates

PresentationStatistics across European countries show that immigrants have a disproportionate lower employment probability than persons born in the host country (SOPEMI, 2010). Explanations to this phenomenon are complex.ObjectivesAn experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship between multicultural personality traits and managers’ selection preferences in the hiring of native vs. foreign-born job candidates. We proposed that this relationship was mediated by prejudice.MethodsNorwegian managers (n = 222) were presented with one Turkish immigrant job candidate and two Norwegian-born, less qualified job candidates. The managers completed the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Blatant Prejudice Scale (SBPS).ResultsWe found that the threat and rejection blatant prejudice subscale and Emotional stability predicted the managers’ hiring preferences. Specifically, the higher threat and rejection subscale scores and the lower emotional stability scores, the more likely it is that the managers preferred to hire a native, less qualified candidate over the Turkish immigrant candidate. The effect of emotional stability on candidate preference was not mediated by prejudice.ConclusionsThe results suggest that managers’ feelings of threat due to foreign-born immigrants’ participation in the host society (political conservatism), and threat due to intercultural interactions, are significantly related to foreign-born immigrant job candidates’ chances of being hired.     

Knowledge-telling and knowledge-transforming arguments in mock jurors' verdict justifications

According to the “story model” a juror constructs an implicit mental model of a story telling what happened as the basis for the verdict choice. But the explicit justification of a verdict choice could take the form of a story (knowledge telling) or the form of a relational (knowledge-transforming) argument structure that brings together diverse, non-chronologically related pieces of evidence. The study investigates whether people tend towards knowledge telling or knowledge transforming, and whether use of these argument structure types are related to skilled argument and epistemic understanding. A sample of people on jury duty chose and justified verdicts in two abridged cases. Participants tended to display the same argument structure and argument skill across cases. Those using knowledge-transforming structures were more successful at the juror argument skills task and had a higher level of epistemic understanding. The discussion suggests that jurors approach their task with an epistemic orientation towards knowledge telling or knowledge transforming.     

Does home life interfere with or facilitate job performance?

The study examines whether home life influences inrole and extrarole job performance in positive or negative ways. We hypothesized that home resources would have a direct positive effect on job performance, and an indirect relationship through home–work facilitation (HWF). Home demands were predicted to negatively affect job performance through home–work interference (HWI). These hypotheses were tested on a sample of 190 male employees. In addition to employees' self-reports, wives rated their own home demands and resources (these were used as controls), and co-workers rated the men's HWI, HWF, and job performance. Results partially supported the hypotheses. Men's home demands and resources were related to self-rated HWI and HWF respectively, whereas co-worker ratings of HWI and HWF were associated with inrole and extrarole performance respectively. Men's home resources also had a direct relationship with inrole and extrarole performance. There was no convincing evidence that HWI and HWF acted as mediators in these relationships. Taken together, the positive influence of home life on job performance was stronger than the negative one.     

Shall we continue or stop disapproving of self-presentation? Evidence on impression management and faking in a selection context and their relation to job performance

The self-presentation tactics of candidates during job interviews and on personality inventories have been a focal topic in selection research. The current study investigated self-presentation across these two selection devices. Specifically, we examined whether candidates who use impression management (IM) tactics during an interview show more faking on a personality inventory and whether the relation to job performance is similar for both forms of self-presentation. Data were collected in a simulated selection process with an interview under applicant conditions and a personality inventory that was administered under applicant conditions and thereafter for research purposes. Because all participants were employed, we were also able to collect job performance ratings from their supervisors. Candidates who used IM in the interview also showed more faking in a personality inventory. Importantly, faking was positively related to supervisors’ job performance ratings, but IM was unrelated. Hence, this study gives rise to arguments for a more balanced view of self-presentation.